The Bears are heading to perhaps their most crucial game of the season today at Oklahoma after losing back-to-back games against Kansas State and Iowa State.

Those losses continued a tumble that has seen Baylor (16-10, 7-6 Big 12) lose five of its last seven. It's made the Bears' already iffy NCAA tournament hopes tenuous at best unless they can reboot with an unexpected late surge.

Along with Texas' struggles without Myck Kabongo, and West Virginia's mystifying season-long shooting struggles, the late collapse of Drew's team has to rank among the Big 12's major disappointments.

The Bears were a consistent Top 25 team in most preseason polls and soared as high as No. 16 after starting the season 3-0.

It's understandable they might have been a little overrated after losing to eventual national champion Kentucky in the Elite Eight last year. With the return of Pierre Jackson, the preseason All-Big 12 Player of the Year, and the arrival of potential NBA lottery pick Isaiah Austin, it appeared the Bears had the talent to match anyone in the conference, if not the nation.

But Austin has been muscled in the paint by the Big 12's biggest post players, and most of the Bears' perimeter players — save for Jackson — have been exposed for their inability to create their own shots.

The Bears self-destructed at No. 10 K-State last Saturday with 19 turnovers, including 11 in the second half of an 81-61 loss. On Tuesday, the Cyclones shot holes in the Bears' defensive rotations for 54.2 percent field-goal shooting and 11 3-pointers in an 87-82 defeat.

“This was a very tough loss,” Drew told reporters after the Iowa State game. “We obviously know how tough the road is from here out. But there's a lot of parity in college basketball and anybody can get on a roll. This is where our underclassmen must rise, and they'll set the tone for us.”

Two statistical categories underscore the Bears' problems this season.

After ranking 28th nationally in 3-point percentage at 38.3 percent last year, Baylor is at 35.0 percent this season, ranking 110th. And after sinking 75.4 percent from the foul line last season to rank 23rd nationally, the Bears are 236th (67.4 percent) this season.

Drew's team is 60th in the most recent RPI and is ranked 28th in the Sagarin rankings through Thursday's games.

The Big 12's balance has been a one-sided issue for the Bears, who are 1-6 against the teams ahead of them in the conference race. Including today's game in Norman, Okla., they still have home games against K-State and Kansas.

These are the games the NCAA's tournament selection committee will be watching most closely. The Bears may need to win all three of those contests, along with a couple of victories at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, to bolster their résumé.

The Bears, in most mock brackets, are the sixth Big 12 team that would be selected to the tournament. The conference has received at least six bids in nine of its 16 years of existence, including four of the past five seasons.

It's not impossible.

But the Bears have shown little this season to foster much hope that they can magically cobble things together.